Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. said last week it was “disappointed” and “concerned” over a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct water sampling in Dimock Township, PA, because it duplicates a state investigation, causes regulatory uncertainty and conflicts with Obama administration policy.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Cabot CEO Dan Dinges said the agency’s involvement in the Susquehanna County community could undermine President Obama’s energy strategy announced in the State of the Union message, which calls for shale gas to play an expanded role in the nation’s energy supply (see related stories).

“We are disappointed that EPA has undertaken a course regarding water sampling that seems inconsistent with what is known about Dimock and what was recommended by state regulators,” Dinges said. “The president made a strong call to all Americans last night to take advantage of the new opportunities in shale gas development.

“To prevent uncertainty and further advance these opportunities, in our view, what is needed is an objective approach by EPA to dealing with community concerns — something missing in recent EPA actions.”

A survey conducted by Cabot and GSI Environmental Inc. of more than 1,700 water wells in Susquehanna found methane concentrations to be “ubiquitous” and found that elevated methane in groundwater was the result of local geology, not shale drilling (see NGI, Jan. 23). In spite of this, the EPA met with Dimock residents in December and asked them to participate in a voluntary survey to address “potential gaps in sampling and sample results,” (see NGI, Jan. 2). Agents did not elaborate as to why the survey was needed.

Dinges asserts that the EPA has presented no credible evidence that the testing is necessary, that the agency’s concerns run counter to findings by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and that the initiative is a departure from the EPA’s stand on the issue. “EPA’s changing posture on sampling in Dimock is indicative of a broader problem of inconsistency with scientific process and a lack of cooperation with state and private sector parties,” Dinges said.

DEP spokeswoman Katherine Gresh told NGI that the EPA would be sharing sample data with the state agency.

“DEP is willing to conduct our own sampling as well, and will do so in cases where that is possible,” Gresh said Friday. “[But] we have been refused access by some homeowners. In those instances, EPA will give us water they have collected so that we can test it also.”

EPA spokeswoman Terri White told NGI that the Dimock testing would be funded through the federal Superfund program at no cost to the homeowners, although she didn’t know how much the testing would collectively cost.

“We are estimating that it will take at least three weeks to sample all the homes, and we expect to have quality-assured lab results for any particular home approximately five weeks after the samples are taken,” White said Friday.

Eleven households in the Carter Road area of the township received potable water from Cabot for months, and in some cases, years, following the explosion of a private water well on Jan. 1, 2009. The DEP investigated and said Cabot was responsible for methane contamination in water wells serving 19 households, a charge the Houston-based company denies.

Cabot settled the issue with the DEP in December 2010 without accepting blame, but nevertheless agreeing to pay the affected residents $4.1 million and provide whole-house gas mitigation systems. Eight of the households agreed to the settlement, but 11 households found the company’s offer insufficient, filed a lawsuit in federal court while receiving potable water from Cabot (see NGI, Dec. 20, 2010; Nov. 23, 2009). In October the DEP said Cabot could discontinue the water deliveries by Nov. 30 because the company had satisfied the terms of the settlement. A Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board judge affirmed that decision in a ruling on Nov. 30 (see NGI, Dec. 5, 2011; Oct. 24, 2011).

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